Foldable casualty carrier

ABSTRACT

A collapsible and portable carrier or stretcher for transporting a casualty or patient is described. The carrier is of the type having a rectangular frame with two end frame members and two side frame members engageable with the end frame members and a bed portion in the form of a flexible sheet supported by the frame. Each side frame member comprises at least two rigid tubular sections with the end of one tubular section being foldably connected to the end of the next adjacent tubular section by means of a hinged joint. A rigid tubular locking sleeve is slidably mounted on one of the tubular sections adjacent the hinge joint and this sleeve is slidable between a folding position entirely on the one tubular section and a locking position in which it surrounds the hinged joint whereby the tubular sections are locked in rigid end to end relationship. A resilient O-ring is mounted in an annular recess adjacent the hinge joint and this O-ring is positioned to frictionally engage the sleeve while it is being moved between the folding and locking position and to firmly hold the sleeve in either folding or locking position.

United States Patent [1 1 Bradford June 3, 1975 FOLDABLE CASUALTYCARRIER John Guythar Bradford, 47 Mansfield Dr., Ancaster, Ontario,Canada [22] Filed: May 29, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 364,320

[76] Inventor:

[52] U.S. Cl. 5/82; 5/114; 403/102 [51] Int. Cl. A61g 1/02; A45f 1/00[58] Field of Search 5/82, 114; 16/168, 169;

Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Nunberg Attorney, Agent, or FirmBurns, Doane,Swecker & Mathis [57] ABSTRACT A collapsible and portable carrier orstretcher for transporting a casualty or patient is described. Thecarrier is of the type having a rectangular frame with two end framemembers and two side frame members engageable with the end frame membersand a bed portion in the form of a flexible sheet supported by theframe. Each side frame member comprises at least two rigid tubularsections with the end of one tubular section being foldably connected tothe end of the next adjacent tubular section by means of a hinged joint.A rigid tubular locking sleeve is slidably mounted on one of the tubularsections adjacent the hinge joint and this sleeve is slidable between afolding position entirely on the one tubular section and a lockingposition in which it surrounds the hinged joint whereby the tubularsections are locked in rigid end to end relationship. A resilient O-ringis mounted in an annular recess adjacent the hinge joint and this Oringis positioned to frictionally engage the sleeve while it is being movedbetween the folding and locking position and to firmly hold the sleevein either folding or locking position.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures PATENYEDJUH ms SHEET 2 8,886,606

FIG.6

FOLDABLE CASUALTY CARRIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention The invention relates to an improved carrier or stretcherwhich can be readily folded for ease of transportation and also veryeasily extended into a rigid stretcher for carrying a casualty orpatient.

2. Description of the Prior Art For many years there has been aninterest in collapsible casualty carriers which will fold into a compactpackage for storing or handling when not in use and which can readily beextended into a rigid structure for carrying a casualty or patient.While the literature is filled with various designs of collapsiblecasualty carriers, there has always been the problem that either thesecarriers are too cumbersome and difficult to move about or they havebeen made too light such that they are not sufficiently rigid and strongfor all purposes. As a result, collapsible casualty carriers havegenerally been used only where their collapsibility has been essential.There has been a pressing need in the military and medical fields for anall purpose casualty carrier which is light, quickly assembled anddisassembled, compact in the collapsed state and also compatible withvarious forms of ancillary equipment.

Various folding arrangements have been proposed and one such proposal isdescribed in Lucey U.S. Pat. No. 2,242,311 issued May 20, 1941. Thatpatent describes hinge joints in the side members of the frame withrigid tubular sleeves which can slide into position over these hingejoints in a locking position. The sleeve is held in position by means ofa spring mounted in one of the tubular frame members which tends tocontinuously urge the sleeve into the locking position.

It has also been known to use a similar type of sleeve with a springdepressable locking button which serves to lock the sleeve in thelocking position.

However, it must be appreciated that foldable casualty carriers must notonly be compact, lightweight and yet rigid and sturdy in the extendedposition but they must also be capable of being folded and unfolded withthe utmost of case under most adverse conditions, including extremes ofweather. Moreover, it may be used in extremely high stress situationsand in most awkward surroundings such as wars, revolutions or naturaldisasters, so that any moving parts associated with the setting up of acasualty carrier must be designed to function in a positive manner underall conceivable conditions and also be the utmost in simplicity.

The spring-loaded sleeves were found to be unsatisfactory for a varietyof reasons. For instance they required exposed slots in the tubularframe members with a sliding member in the slots to push the sleeve.These slots not only tended to weaken the frame members but alsoprovided a ready opening for all kinds of extraneous material to becomelodged in the spring mechanism. Water frequently got into the mechanismand when this froze, the mechanism became totally inoperable. Dirt, mud,etc. also tended to get into and jam the spring mechanism. Moreover, theslots also permitted blood, vomit, etc. to become lodged within themechanism.

In the case of the spring-biased button for locking a sleeve in thelocked position there are the same problems as above in terms of thebutton becoming frozen or jammed with debris and there is a furtherdifficulty in having to hold the button down with one hand while usingthe other hand to slide the sleeve. Particularly under extremely adverseconditions it may be most important to be able to have one hand free tohold the stretcher or assist with a casualty while using the other handto slide the sleeve into the locking position.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved meansfor positively holding the rigid sleeve in either the locking or foldingposition while at the same time permitting movement of the sleevebetween the lockingand folding positions in a simple manner requiringthe use of only one hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to this invention there is provided acollapsible and portable carrier or stretcher for a patient or casualtycomprising a rectangular frame having two end frame members and two sideframe members engageable with the end frame members and a bed portion inthe form of a flexible sheet support by the frame. Each of the sideframe members comprises at least two rigid tubular sections, the end ofone tubular section being foldably connected to the end of the nextadjacent tubular section by means of a hinged joint. A rigid tubularlocking sleeve is slidably mounted on one of the tubular sectionsadjacent the hinged joint and this sleeve is slidably between a foldingposition entirely on the one tubular section and a locking positionsurrounding the hinged joint and telescoping the two sections wherebythe two tubular sections are locked in rigid end to end relationship.

According to the novel feature, a resilient O-ring is mounted in anannular recess adjacent the hinged joint. This O-ring is positioned tofrictionally engage the sleeve while it is being moved between foldingand locking positions and to firmly hold the sleeve in either folding orlooking position.

The O-ring can conveniently be made from silicon rubber and it ispreferably positioned such that the end of the rigid sleeve is justclear of the O-ring in either the locking or folding position. Thisprevents the ring from becoming permanently compressed such that it doesnot positively hold the sleeve in the desired position.

This arrangement of sleeve and O-ring has been found to work extremelywell particularly in adverse use conditions and it has been found to beparticularly advantageous in its ability to remove any grit, debris etc.which might tend to become caught beneath the sleeve and interfere withits function. It must once again be emphasized that foldable carriers orstretchers of this type must be adapted for use in all kinds of the mostextreme conditions so that their operation must be as fool-proof aspossible against all kinds of adversities. In other words, the ease withwhich the rigid sleeve can be slid into position even under extremelyadverse conditions becomes a very critical feature in a device of thistype.

In terms of compactness and ease of handling, it has been found to beparticularly advantageous to provide three hinged joints in each sideframe member. These are equally spaced so that the carrier can be foldedin a W-configuration. Of course, it is also possible to use one or twohinged joints or even more than three depending upon needs andcircumstances.

A flexible sheet preferably forms the bed portion for the stretcher andthis sheet comprises a central bed section located within the framemembers. The sheet is arranged such that longitudinal spaces existbetween the edges of the sheet and'the two side frame members. The sheetis then connected to the side frame members by means of cross straps orropes connected to the sheet and looping around the side frame members.The provision of this gap between the sheet and the side frame membersgreatly simplifies the moving of the locking sleeves and alsofacilitates the use of any additional straping for lashing a casualtyatop a fracture board onto the carrier as well as for mounting suchancillary equipment as back supports, head protectors etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of afoldable stretcher embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation showing the stretcher in partly foldedposition;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation showing the stretcher in completely foldedposition for ease of carrying;

FIG. 4 is a detailed view in partial section showing a hinge connection;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a hinge connection; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a hinge plate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the foldableand portable stretcher device of the invention is shown in perspectivein FIG. 1 fully assembled and ready to receive a casualty or patient. Asshown, the stretcher has a rectangular, tubular frame with a pair ofside frame members 10 and a pair of end frame members 11. Mounted withinthe frame is a flexible sheet 12 forming the bed of the stretcher. Theside frame members 10 are made of at least two sections, while foursections 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d are shown in the particular embodiment ofFIG. 1. These side frame sections are conveniently made from thin walledtubular duralumin and are joined together end to end according to theinvention by means of hinge joints 13.

Each hinge joint comprises solid cylindrical members 14 which canconveniently be formed from aluminum. Each cylindrical member 14 has apair of opposed ears 15 at one end thereof forming an open-ended slot 16therebetween. The opposite end of each cylindrical member 14 is in theform of a cylindrical insert 17 of reduced diameter which slides snuglywithin a tubular side frame member 10. The insert is held in positionwithin the member 10 by means of rivet 18.

A hinge plate or member 1) lies between and is pivoted to said ears 15by means of hinge pins 20. As can best be seen from FIG. 4, 5 and 6,each hinge plate has a pair of perpendicular end faces 21 merging into apair of curving corner portions 22. The perpendicular end faces 21 comeinto contact with the end faces 23 of the slots 16 when the stretcher isopened out for use and this limits the hinge action to one directiononly. For convenience of folding it has been found desirable to form thecentral pair of hinges so as to break upwardly and the other two sets ofhinges to break downwardly for folding as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Ofcourse, they may equally well break in the opposite directions.

At the junction between the exposed portion of a cylindrical member 14and the adjacent side frame member 10 is provided an annular recess 24in member 14 for receiving and holding a flexible O-ring 25. A siliconrubber O-ring has been found to be particularly useful for this purpose.

As a means for locking the hinged joints, there is provided for eachjoint a rigid sleeve 26 which, as shown in FIG. 4, is slidable between alocking position 26 where it telescopes and locks the joint and afolding position 26' where it is completely free from the hinge therebypermitting easy folding. Rather than using the spring-loaded buttons orspring-biased locking sleeves of the prior art, the locking sleeve ofthe present invention relies entirely upon the O-ring 25 for holding iteither into or out of engagement with the hinged joint. When thestretcher is being set up for use, two sections of the stretcher areswung into aligned end to end relationship and the locking sleeve 26' isgrasped by hand and forced over the O-ring 25 and into position 26 whereit telescopes the hinge joint. In this position it is passed beyond theO-ring so that the O-ring prevents the sleeve from accidentally comingout of engagement with the hinge during use.

In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the ends of the lockingsleeve 26 have chamfers 27 to ease their sliding over the O ring 25. Thedistance that the sleeve can move in each direction is limited by meansof the projecting rivet heads 18. If desired, the length of the sleevemay be such that a portion thereof is always in contact with the O-ring.This makes the sliding over the O-ring somewhat easier but also has thedisadvantage that the O-ring may tend to become permanently compressedthereby decreasing its holding effect on the sleeve.

The remaining portions of the stretcher will now be described for sakeof completeness and it will be seen that the end frame members 11 arejoined to the side frame members 10a and 10a by means of housing members28. These housing members 28 also contain telescoping handles 29 whichcan slide between operational position as shown in FIG. 1 and closedposition as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

It is also convenient to provide legs 30 on the stretcher and it will beseen that the legs shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are stacking legs. Theseare convenient for supporting the flexible sheet 12 off the surface of afloor or the ground and also for stacking a series of already assembledstretchers e.g., in an ambulance using spacer sections having the samefitting.

The flexible sheet 12 forming the bed portion of the stretcher ispreferably made from a very strong woven and waterproof fabric. Forexample, it can be made from a vinyl-coated nylon fabric. It isparticularly advantageous to mount the bed 12 between the side framemembers 10 with a small gap of about an inch between the edges of thebed and the frame. The bed is supported between the side frame membersby means of heavy webbing, e.g., nylon or polyolefin straps 31. Thesestraps extend across between the side frame members 10 and are also sewnto the sheet 12. The ends of the sheet 12 loop around the end framemembers 11 and are pulled taut by means of a rope or cord 32 which islooped through grommets 33. If the bed 12 tends to become slack withuse, it can be tightened by means of these cords 32.

A further pair of heavy straps are mounted across between side framemembers 10a and 10b and these are provided with loops 34 which serve aslifting and handling loops for the stretcher either in the extended orfolded position. They are particularly useful when hoisting thestretcher into a helicopter or lowering from a height.

At the head of the stretcher a pair of loops 35 are sewn to the flexiblesheet 12 and these are merely convenient loops for various purposes andcan, for instance, be used as a mounting for a head and chin extensionsupport for an unconscious patient or casualty.

A pair of shoulder straps 36 are mounted in an upper region of theflexible sheet 12 and these extend over the shoulders of a patient forlashing him to the stretcher as will be described hereinafter. A pair ofVelcro loops 37 are provided and these are readily opened and closed andare intended to retain the straps 36 in folded position when not in use.A similar pair of straps 39 are provided in the lower end of thestretcher and these are intended for lashing the feet of the patient tothe stretcher. Velcro loops 40 are again provided at the lower end andone of the straps 39 is shown in folded position 3911 within the Velcroloop 40.

In a mid-portion of the flexible sheet 12 is mounted a further pair ofstraps 38 and these serve as pelvic lashing straps. These loop throughthe crotch and around the upper thighs in the front to pass through thespace between the bed and side frame members and over the cross supportstraps to fasten together under the stretcher bed. This affords a firmsling support to the pelvis, so that the integrity of the long leg bonesneed not be relied upon; a valuable feature in the case of fractures ofthe leg. In addition, since the pelvis is immobilized, positive tractionmay be applied to the leg for reduction of fractures. This pelvicsupport is particularly advantageous where a patient on a stretcher isto be hoisted vertically, e.g., when being lifted by means of ahelicopter from a dense growth of vegetation such as a forest or jungle.

Also mounted from cross support straps 31 are additional straps 42 whichare connected to side flap members 41. The use of these side flapmembers have been previously described in applicants US. Pat. No.3,601,824 issued Aug. 31, 1971. These side flaps are made from aflexible sheet material and one of the flaps has along its free edge aseries of hooked fasteners 43. Also mounted at the end of each flap arebuckles 44. The free edge of the opposite flap has a cord 45 threadedthrough grommets 46 and the two flaps are intended to be extended overthe top of a patient with the loops of the cord 45 being hooked into thehook fasteners 43. The whole assembly can then be tightened over thepatient by means of the cord tightener 47.

It will also be noted from FIG. 1 that there is a space provided betweenthe adjacent edge of a flap member and a side frame member 10 so thateven when the side flaps are positioned over a patient the side framemembers 10 remain fully exposed. This is of great advantage because itgreatly facilitates the connecting of ancillary equipment to thestretcher such as a head protection shield, back rest, etc.

I.claim:

1. A collapsible and portable casualty carrier comprising a rectangularframe having two end frame members and two side frame members engageablewith the end frame members and a bed portion in the form of a flexiblesheet supported by the frame with longitudinal spaces between the sideedges of the bed portion and the two side frame members, the bed portionbeing fixed to the side frame members by means of straps extendingacross between the side frame members, each of said side frame memberscomprising three rigid tubular sections, the end of one tubular sectionbeing foldably connected to the end of the next adjacent tubular sectionby means of a hinge joint, each hinge joint comprises a pair of solidcylindrical members fitted within adjacent ends of said tubular sideframe members, each cylindrical member having a pair of projectingopposed ears forming a slot therebetween, with the pair of cylindricalmembers being pivotally joined by means of a plate mounted within theslots and pivotally connected to each pair of opposed ears, a rigidtubular locking sleeve slidably mounted on one of said tubular sectionsadjacent said hinge joint, said sleeve being slidable between a foldingposition entirely on said one tubular section and a locking positionsurrounding the hinge joint whereby the two tubular sections are lockedin rigid end to end relationship and a resilient O-ring mounted in anannular recess adjacent said hinge joint, said O-ring being positionedto frictionally engage the sleeve while it is being moved betweenfolding and locking positions and to just clear an end of the sleeve infolding or locking position thereby positively retaining the sleeve ineither folding or locking position.

1. A collapsible and portable casualty carrier comprising a rectangularframe having two end frame members and two side frame members engageablewith the end frame members and a bed portion in the form of a flexiblesheet supported by the frame with longitudinal spaces between the sideedges of the bed portion and the two side frame members, the bed portionbeing fixed to the side frame members by means of straps extendingacross between the side frame members, each of said side frame memberscomprising three rigid tubular sections, the end of one tubular sectionbeing foldably connected to the end of the next adjacent tubular sectionby means of a hinge joint, each hinge joint comprises a pair of solidcylindrical members fitted within adjacent ends of said tubular sideframe members, each cylindrical member having a pair of projectingopposed ears forming a slot therebetween, with the pair of cylindricalmembers being pivotally joined by means of a plate mounted within theslots and pivotally connected to each pair of opposed ears, a rigidtubular locking sleeve slidably mounted on one of said tubular sectionsadjacent said hinge joint, said sleeve being slidable between a foldingposition entirely on said one tubular section and a locking positionsurrounding the hinge joint whereby the two tubular sections are lockedin rigid end to end relationship and a resilient O-ring mounted in anannular recess adjacent said hinge joint, said O-ring being positionedto frictionally engage the sleeve while it is being moVed betweenfolding and locking positions and to just clear an end of the sleeve infolding or locking position thereby positively retaining the sleeve ineither folding or locking position.